Half-and-half broth shabu-shabu for three in Suwon: Sodamchon Jeongja

I've been craving healthy food lately, and honestly what comes to mind first is shabu-shabu, haha. I went out for shabu-shabu and Vietnamese spring rolls (wollamssam), where you get clean broth and tons of vegetables.

Sodamchon is located near Suwon Starfield. It's a huge restaurant, so I didn't have to worry about seating and could eat comfortably.

It's on the 4th floor of Gyeongseong Building.

Where do you park at Sodamchon Suwon Jeongja Branch?

I heard that instead of the building's own parking lot, you need to use Seonil parking lot for Sodamchon Suwon Jeongja Branch. Good to know if you're driving.

You take the elevator from the parking lot up to the 4th floor. I had my kid with me and brought a stroller, so I was glad there was an elevator, haha.

Inside the restaurant and the private reserved table for three

The restaurant was clean overall with wide spacing between tables, so it was great for eating with family.

It's a spacious, comfortable place, so lots of groups were there for gatherings. Given how shabu-shabu is, it's great to visit with family or friends, and the atmosphere suited larger groups well. Shabu-shabu really is tastier when you eat it with a bunch of people, haha.

There can be a wait during lunch/dinner peak hours, so I'd recommend making a reservation.

I visited today with two others, three of us total, and called ahead to reserve.

When you reserve, you get a seat like this — half-open and private. It's the kind of seat where you can eat comfortably with family or friends, so I think it's an ideal spot for gatherings.

Spring roll shabu-shabu, 18,900 won: half-and-half broth and meat

What I ordered was the spring roll shabu-shabu for ₩18,900, with half-and-half broth and half-and-half meat as options.

I ordered the ₩18,900 spring roll shabu-shabu today. Being able to eat fresh vegetables plus filling meat made it the best choice, haha. Totally satisfied. Next time I'll have to try the lunch special.

What's on the salad bar, and the ponzu sauce to mix

A salad bar where you can eat all kinds of vegetables freely. Saying "vegetables don't make you fat~~~" I piled my plate high with the family.

Every single ingredient was well trimmed and fresh. It's honestly the first place I've seen managed this well.

Mushrooms, fried tofu, and rice cakes, sausages, mandu (dumplings), sujebi (hand-torn noodle soup) that kids love — there's really such a variety of ingredients.

There's also a salad, so I ate vegetables first to help manage my blood sugar, haha.

It was set up hot-pot-restaurant style where you make your own sauce, which was fun. Among the recommended sauces, I really, really recommend the ponzu sauce!

Haha, I also neatly put together a vegetable set for the spring rolls.

Surprisingly there was bread, and eating it now and then while having shabu-shabu was extremely addictive. Tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) was also provided, and it was tasty too.

A small plate for enjoying varied flavors. This place really knows how to serve food. I liked being able to eat the sauce cleanly. Officially naming it a Suwon must-eat~~~

Setting up the vegetables ahead of time for a filling meal, haha.

I ordered half-and-half broth, and being able to go back and forth between clean and spicy was so good. I also ordered the meat half-and-half, and the quality was better than expected — totally satisfied.

You all know we eat shabu-shabu just to eat the spring rolls, right~~??

The mushrooms were also prettily trimmed, so I ate a lot of them. Even eating this much, my stomach didn't feel heavy — an easy meal.

Chewy rice paper texture with clean-tasting meat and crunchy vegetables~~~ this is what you come for, haha. Dipping into various sauces, I kept eating without even realizing how full I was.

What makes Sodamchon special is that they provide radish and green onion, so the broth develops properly and the shabu-shabu soup tastes really refreshing. Full but still eating more — probably just because it's delicious, haha.

The free dessert bar, ice cream included

Sodamchon has desserts they offer for free. There's even a pretty space for it, so I'd definitely recommend stopping by after your meal.

From coffee to black tea to ice cream, they have it all, haha. The owner really cares about taste.

I had the ice cream, and it felt like something from a proper specialty shop. The quality was much better than I imagined, so definitely try it~~

Is Sodamchon Suwon Jeongja Branch worth it?

If you're looking for a healthy restaurant to eat out at, I recommend Sodamchon!! The spacious layout also makes it a great spot for family or friend gatherings, which I really liked. The meat and vegetable quality was good too, so it was satisfying as a full meal. I think it'd be worth visiting again next time I'm craving shabu-shabu.